Violet
by PerfectMisfit
Summary: His eyes were the best part of his face - deep violet orbs with flecks of pale grey and midnight blue. If she stared hard enough, she could get lost in them. And she would give anything to find herself lost in them again. Mai x Naru
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Ghost Hunt. It is all property of Fuyumi Ono.

I'm not sure if the is AU or not. I haven't watched GH in a while, and I need to update myself on the manga. Naru said he'd leave Japan once he found his brother's body. This is my take on what would happen if he did leave. I think Naru departure would really break Mai...

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Crystals of snow twirled in the chilly air and fluttered to the white ground. The sound of terribly sung Christmas carols floated into her ears. The red and green decorations that hung in the cold office glared at her. They didn't belong in his office – but she never stopped putting them up. Somewhere, deep down, she hoped she would hear his voice again, ordering her to take them down.

He should've been here with her. He should've been insulting all the carolers that stopped by at his office. He should've been calling her an idiot and yelling out dozens and dozens of tea requests. He should've been complaining about how cold the air was in his soft voice. Mai never thought the day would come when she would _want_ him to call out to her for tea.

One year ago, he sat under a Christmas tree with her, reluctantly peeling wrapping paper off presents and muttering something that resembled 'damn carolers, ruining my sleep…' or grumbling about taking everyone out to dinner since it was Christmas.

Now, she sat curled up on a couch, staring at the only picture she had of him – she remembered when the picture was taken. Ayako had suggested that they all go out for a little team bonding and after much persuasion Naru had agreed after confirming Takigawa was the one paying, not him. She cradled the picture in her palms and stared at his face.

Only a blind person would say he wasn't handsome – a pale face framed with dark hair. He had perfectly chiseled features, almost as if they were carved out specially for him. His eyes were the best part of his face, undoubtedly – deep violet orbs with flecks of pale gray and midnight blue. If she stared hard enough, she could get lost in them. She would give anything to find herself lost in them again.

Some days she would fall into an uneasy, dreamless sleep on the couch, holding the picture close to her and waking up with terrible cramps in her neck or pounding in her head. Occasionally Ayako or Takigawa or Yasuhara would call just to check up on her or take her out so she could get some fresh air. She appreciated their efforts to help her, she honestly did, but they had lives as well. Yasuhara had college and both Ayako and Takigawa had jobs. It seemed like time had stopped only for her.

She had lost her chance. She had always wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but now that seemed impossible. He had told them he would be leaving, but even after knowing that, his departure came as a shock to all of them. She had overslept as usual, that morning and got to the SPR office, only to find it locked with a key stuck in the keyhole. Upon unlocking the door and pushing it open, she found only the black leather couch that he often slept on, his desk and rows and rows of empty shelves.

He had left, without so much as a goodbye. Hadn't the SPR meant anything to him?

She never stopped thinking he would return and she would get the happy ending she had always wanted. Her family would be reunited. Ayako Takigawa, Yasuhara and even Masako had tried to snap her out of it and gave up eventually.

_I never got to tell him I love him…_

She had wasted an entire year waiting for him; waiting for someone who would never return to her or put her at ease. Madoka told her that he did care for his friends – he just had a strange way of showing it. Was this how you showed you cared about a friend?

The snowfall grew heavier. Mai walked over to the frosted window and placed her hands on the glass. She stared at the white scene and smiled. She bought her fingers to the frosted glass and began to form words on the window, ignoring the numbing sensation that ran down the length of her right index finger.

_I love Naru._

"Do you love me?" She asked the slightly smudged words on the hazy window.

She would never know.

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Reviews and ConCrit are appreciated :). This really didn't turn out the way I expected it to.../. I think it turned out okay, though...


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Ghost Hunt. It is all property of Fuyumi Ono.

I did a Naru version of this. Let's just say this is Naru's side of the story. It didn't turn out like Mai's, but I think it's okay.

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_I said I would return after I found Gene..._

He wasn't sure what you could classify the emotion he was feeling - regret, maybe anger. He regretted leaving Japan. He was angry at himself for leaving Mai, though he did a fairly good job of hiding anything he felt. The decision to return to England was his - it wasn't that his parents would be inconvinienced without their son.

He had come to Japan just to find Gene. Soon he found himself thinking of Japan as home. The SPR had become more than just a business he had set up, it had become a vital part of his life. Sure Masako irritated him with her shameless flirting and Mai and Ayako with their idiocy, but life without them seemed different. It felt _boring_. He had tried to act as if they had never existed - a bit like erasing them from his memory completely.

It hadn't worked.

They had been there for him, no matter how much he pushed them away or how much he annoyed them with his stuck up attitude. They were his friends. They weren't acquaintances or just people he would flash courteus nods at.

But even friends had limits.

Ayako had given up a long time ago when it came to befriending him. Takigawa had followed Ayako. Masako had never given up on trying to become more than his friend, sometimes resorting to certain less-than-acceptable and underhand methods. Mai had been the most determined out of them. Mai had never given up on him. Mai continued to let herself be hurt by him.

It didn't matter how many times he insulted or or how many tea reuqests he yelled out to her, Mai had followed him faithfully through thick and thin. Mai had never grown tired of his attitude or dumped him just like everyone else who had grown tired of him. Mai _cared_ about him.

_Had I stayed in Japan, would she have loved me...?_

He stared out at the white scenery, gazing at the millions and millions of people hustling and bustling about and somewhere, deep down, he wished he was doing the same for his loved ones. Sometimes he would call out for tea, waiting for someone to yell back "Jerk!" to him, only to find Lin coming in with a steaming teacup and his usual stoic mask.

_"I always knew you were an idiot Mai. I didn't know you were idiotic enough to come out in this snow without a coat."_

_"Congratulations. You actually admitted there's something you don't know." Mai snapped, pulling her knees closer to her, shuddering. Naru let out a short, hollow laugh. Mai proceeded to draw figures in the snow with a random stick she found lying nearby._

_"That looks terrible." Naru commented at the matchstick figurines Mai had clumsily drawn._

_"Why thank you."_ _Smirking, Naru pulled off his coat and draped it around her lean shoulders. _

_"Come on in. Unless you want to freeze to death."_

It seemed like no matter how hard he tried to forget her, he couldn't succeed. He wasn't sure what about Mai attracted him to her so much - she wasn't the prettiest and definitely not the smartest girl he had met, but even then, he couldn't help but dream about being with her someday. Chestnut hair that adorned a small, pale face. Wide brown eyes glaring at him in anger.

_"You're a jerk!"_

_Yes, I am. I am a jerk._

He pressed his hand closer to the cold window and stared out at the snowy ground, imagining a brown-haired girl drawing drawing pictures on the snow with a stick and himself standing next to her.

"Do you still love me Mai?"

He would never know.

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Reviews and ConCrit are appreciated :).


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